Here at Notting Hill Internet Services, we recently commissioned a piece of research the results of which amazed us. Having heard that 44% of small businesses in the USA have no website, we thought we’d check the situation here in the UK. Sadly, our hunch was proved right: that in the UK, we lag further behind.

Astonishingly, more than half of the UK’s 4.7 million small businesses have no online presence. Why astonishingly? Because, in the current age, there are few more economical and efficient ways to market a small business.

We believe that there’s a misconception, especially prevalent among cost-conscious smaller concerns, that websites represent a huge outlay. In fact, a small static website will require little tending and suit the needs of most small businesses perfectly. The more ambitious may wish to look into online sales, regular updates, blogging and social media – but these are by no means a requirement for success. Even a small site with just a few pages can be effective in bringing you new custom, and – unlike print advertising – a website represents a once-only cost.

If you want to do a small piece of research for yourself, think of a few local businesses you know, and see if they are online. Then ask yourself a question: are you more likely to book at a restaurant when you’ve already been able to read the menu, find directions on a map, and seen photos of the interior? Would you feel more disposed to use a chiropractor who can provide testimonials, a full list of charges, and a contact form?

We’re in this business because we believe that a simple website can transform small business. We also enjoy seeing the looks on clients’ faces when we tell them that their entire outlay to build and host a website need only be £99. If that sounds like good business sense, you’d better contact us soon, because we’re going to be awfully busy when half of those 4.7 million businesses also wake up to the value of an online presence.

Last week we read the news (online, probably) that for the first time, the national spend on online advertising had exceeded that on TV advertising. Now, a new piece of research from telecommunications provider ntl suggests that you get a lot more bang for your buck online.

The main purpose of the research was to explore the use of social media by local councils (as previously discussed to some extent on this very blog), but it included this very interesting breakdown of costs:

The cost of interacting with the public via the web cost[s] just 27 pence per visitor, compared to £3.22 per phone call and £6.56 per face-to-face visit.

This makes perfect sense, of course: maintaining a social media presence or even a website is a distinctly cheaper option than employing someone to make calls or visit houses. You may not be trying to run a council, but there is something worth remembering there for all of us.

Social media is a really fun area to work in, because it’s such a new field that one is constantly being surprised by innovations.

Take the Facebook status bar – that field where you type in a short message to let all your friends know what you’ve been up to, how you’re feeling, or your latest news.

On an individual level, it’s a great disseminator of personal information. But just this week, Facebook took a step back and started looking at the status bar on a nationwide level.

Its Gross National Happiness index analyses wording from status updates throughout the USA (without compromising its users’ privacy, of course), and, depending on the types of words used, comes up with a score for positivity or negativity. Positive words might be those such as the ubiquitous online exclamation ‘Yay!’, while most of us will be all too familiar with the temptation to tell the world how sad or grumpy we are.

So far, the graph tells us that peaks of positivity seem to be seen on national holidays, which, I guess, we could have foreseen. Is this a useful tool, or just a bit of interesting fun? So far, I’d say the latter – but might skilled economists build it into their predictive spending habit forecasts?

If so, I have a handy hint for them. I – like many, I suspect – tend to splurge online when I’m unhappy, not when I’m full of joys. Look for when the ‘Yay’s have bottomed out – and then launch your online shoe sale.

As I’ve said before, it seems like Google announces something new almost every day or so. With all the excitement of Google Wave’s initial invitations going out, it could be easy to miss a few of their less prominent launches.

One interesting new innovation that could impact website owners is the Google Sidewiki. This new Google toolbar component allows anyone to add comments which can be viewed at the side of the webpage.

The idea is hardly a new one: we’ve seen many similar services launch – and sometimes fade – before. The difference may just be that Google’s ubiquity will show a much more substantial take-up, and hence the idea will finally find its time.

As a website owner, your main concern will be what kind of comments users may write for others to see. It seems that the Sidewiki is largely conceived as a public service utility; in the visual example given by Google, visitors to a tourism website add tips about the weather and things to see. Google’s algorithms will ensure that spammy, offensive, or less useful comments will be driven down by more popular or relevant content.

Naturally, there will be abuse of such a service. Presumably Google has measures in place to deal with this if needs be. You may also find that, if your website does get commented on at all, Sidewiki provides useful insight into what your users are thinking; what do they perceive not to be on your website that your other users might need, for example. As with most Google products, Sidewiki could work hard for you.. so long as you know how to use it.